Touhou Minus 13: Precurse at Frozen Dam
by Person With Many Aliases
Summary: There is always a first Incident for the people who get involved, the one that awakens them to the world. Once upon a time, there was a Hakurei miko. This was her first Incident.
1. The Godless Shrine

She was running out of shots, and she was running out of time.

The enemy and she stood at a distance in the inner sanctum which had been wrecked by their battles. It had earlier been built seemingly in vein of a cathedral, with its tall hallowed space broken up by rows of elaborately sculpted pillars splitting the ground into a central nave and aisles. A beautiful wood desk would have been in the very back on the altar space, with the work station as one's own pulpit. Massive stain glass windows would have illuminated the room, designs that paid no appraisal to any deity.

Very little of that design conceit was left though. The desk had been the first to go in the opening rounds of the battle, the windows were easy to break in the maelstrom of blows, and the pillars, providing easy cover, or an easy weapon, had been systematically blown away over the course of the battle.

Another one just went as she rolled away from the foot that drove itself through the marble, collapsing the whole thing. Pieces of white stone crumbled across the ground as she slid to a halt on her knees. Her body ached; she was exhausted with the constant battle that had brought her up to now. She could feel the air burn through her throat and into her aching lungs from the effort of keeping herself going. She braced herself on her toes and one hand, to keep her profile low and ready to explode into motion. Meanwhile, her right hand remained wrapped around to the small of her back, thumbing the leather thong tied to her waist where her last orb remained. She could have called back the others, but in these quarters, there simply was no time.

He looked down imperiously upon her, ice blue eyes seeing her as a mere annoyance to inevitably destroy. He retracted his foot and turned towards her.

"I understand now. What I feel is called disappointment. If you had taken our offer, I would not have to kill you. A part of me, even now, remains curious about your reasoning. 'Standing by Gensokyo', was it? But you are better than an illusion. Superior to the illusion. My master covets what the perfection of your body represents. I, myself, see your soul, in a flawless radiance."

"There's nothing you could say that would make me change my mind. I'm going to save my friend from you people, no matter what it takes!" The woman coldly responded.

"Your friend is making the sacrifices necessary to destroy Gensokyo. You will not have her back, but she could have _you_ back. Don't let the selfishness of your duties to this realm blind your options."

He held out his open hand, offering peace.

"My master will always make the same offer. Accompany your friend with us. Leave that pocket of existence to its end."

"I'm not going to let you use her like this!" She shouted at him in continued defiance. She sprung off the ground, air exploding noisily around her as she flung herself at her mortal enemy.

"So be it. In the end, you refuse to let yourself being anything more than a Hakurei miko-"

He drew back his fist almost lazily even while the woman flew at him, the hand behind her back flinging out, with her fingers wrapped around a smooth orb, decorated with a red and white Taijitu. At the same time, the man's sharp jab collided with the woman's wide, sailing swing. There was a crack of thunder and a bolt of something that could have been construed as lightning as the forces met.

The area ten feet around them exploded, a ball of compressed air flinging dust and loose debris, and the half remaining pillars and construction flying, rattling and coming loose. The walls of the cathedral collapsed, one side of the room coming unsheathed and falling down to the depths below.

As the chaos simmered down, leaving a hollow whine of passing wind through the area. After a minute, the woman's black booted foot kicked some of the stones away, freeing her from the piles she had been trapped underneath. She choked and gasped for air as she pushed herself off the ground and staggered to her feet.

She found herself staring at the opening in the wall, and down into the caverns and depths that surrounded her. There was nothing to mask the sounds of the screeching and wrenching machinery down below.

She felt a chill run down her spine as she felt a presence behind her.

Even with all the strength she put into that last blow…

She swirled around just as the rubble exploded away, with him suddenly staring her down, face to face.

That same instant she felt something cold and frozen lance through her chest, and spearing through where her heart beat.

The shock was so violent, she could feel the organ shuddering for an instant. The woman herself, gave a feeble choke before she started to fall on her knees. Her vision swam as the coldness overcame her. But he wasn't satisfied until his white gloved hand swung out and snatched about her neck in a vice grip. With little effort, he pulled upward, until he was holding her in the air, her legs dangling lifelessly, while she held onto his wrist with her hands, trying to free herself, or at the least, keep breathing while his fingers crushed her windpipe closed.

"I've already mentioned my displeasure at how it will end like this. So may we bid our farewells here. Eat despair, savor failure, and listen to the machines that will end Gensokyo."

All her strength was leaving. She almost felt guilty about fighting "too hard" just prior, with what was left of her sapped at this critical moment.

But she couldn't give up now. She had to do something. She had to keep fighting. Everyone was relying on her, and she couldn't… she couldn't…

She couldn't breath…

_It's going dark…_

With that, she realized how hard it was to even keep her eyes open, as a light headed fuzziness consumed all her thoughts, and slowly, the pain and the exhaustion subsided, as her eyes closed…

* * *

><p><strong>Person With Many Aliases Presents:<strong>

_**Precurse at Frozen Dam**_

**An Ancient Eastern Tale.**

"**Touhou Project" property of Team Shanghai Alice.**

**Original Characters and Concepts property of Author "Person With Many Aliases".**

**Excluding unofficial fan designs.**

**1: The Godless Shrine**

* * *

><p>In a world that existed half out of place, there sat an isolated shrine, nestled comfortably between the feet of two mountains.<p>

When one says the shrine is "isolated", it did not only mean it was far from human contact, though it certainly was. The approach to the shrine from the nearest (and only) human civilization in this other worldly realm was still close to an hour just walking. But the shrine was not isolated merely from men, but also from whatever deities it would have housed.

It was a worn, weathered collection of timber, without a god to host. Its only company was the wall of the magic barrier that sat behind the shrine, part of the great and near invisible wall that encircled the land called Gensokyo. But as it was the "Hakurei shrine", it regardless had at least one occupant to care for the empty temple. The one Hakurei miko.

With no deity to venerate, the main hall in the center of the shrine was a largely empty space. It suited the woman fine, who sat stock still in the room, legs drawn up underneath her in _seiza_. Her black hair spilled without restraint down her back, save for the errant strands that seemed to slide down her face, here and there, and a curling, rebellious wisp that poked out from the top of her head. Her eyes were shut, and her breaths were inaudible and even, her mind most likely drifted off into that strange place minds go in meditation.

Her garb wouldn't have been considered orthodox for a shrine worker, though the color was at least, technically correct. A red, overall like fabric was tied over her front, giving a upper layer to a black leotard she wore underneath. Tied to her arms were voluminous lengths of white sleeves patterned like a miko's. Her legs were covered with a red _hakama_, tied to the waist by a bow of the same color.

It was clothing not up to standard, but it sufficed in drawing a compromise between her two lines of business. Form and Function, Freedom of movement and Formality of-

"Hakurei? Hakurei! It's me!" A voice echoed from outside and into the hall.

The girl's voice woke up the woman from the depths of meditation she had placed herself in. With a rumble of confusion from her throat, the miko's eyes weakly fluttered open, letting gold eyes see the hall again.

"Hakurei! Are you awake in there?"

She stood up, swiveling her bare shoulders to get some life into them, and twisting her neck from side to side in a decidedly unlady like faction. There was a loud noise of clicking bones.

A few striding steps, and the woman opened up the sliding screen doors to see the outside porch of the shrine.

It was winter.

The snowfall was coming down rapidly, with the mountains, nay, the Hakurei miko's entire world as far as she could see, covered with a white sheet and a gray sky. Standing in front of her, before the wood steps of the shrine was a teenage girl in a drab kimono, but wrapped over with a burly white nylon coat, an article that had found its way in from the world beyond the Barrier. She wore a black scarf around her neck, which helped her from disappearing from the Hakurei's sight and into the snow. Her long blonde hair was tied back into a long braid that swung about on her back, with bangs that framed green eyes.

"Good afternoon, Kirisame. If I am correct and it is afternoon…" Hakurei politely greeted, before staring up into the gray clouds, which gave no sign of where the sun was this winter day.

"It is. After all, I brought lunch again!" The younger of the two raised a bag, presumably with boxed food.

"Kirisame, you shouldn't have." The miko intoned, almost neutrally, but there was a hint of embarrassed gratitude, "You keep going out of your way to visit me…"

"Of course I would! After all, who else would bring you actual edible food?"

And what Kirisame was true on more than one account. One, the Hakurei miko couldn't cook. She could boil rice and ingredients until they were edible, for sure, but in her friend's opinion that couldn't be counted as "cooking". "Cooking" required meats, spices, exotic multi-stage preparations, and deserts with tea, or coffee more rarely, on the really spectacular parties.

The other was that the young girl seemed to be the only person brave enough to want to visit the Hakurei for anything more than business. (There was one other who didn't mind the miko's presence, but he was too stoic to do anything more than sit in his shop. He wasn't too popular, either.)

"Besides, we're friends!"

"Are we?"

"Well, of course! At least I'll be your friend, if you're not going to be my friend. Do I have to keep reminding you to call me by my name?" The girl cheerfully lectured.

The miko shrugged, "Very well, Malice. But if we're supposedly friends, why are you standing under the snow? You're free to enter."

"Heh, you know. It's procedure for a lowly peon to ask permission to enter the sacred domain of an awesome god!"

"It's the Hakurei shrine, Malice. It's just a building."

"Then I humbly ask you, then for protection, lest I be struck down by lightning."

The miko finally gave in and laughed, "Alright, just come in out of the cold, before you freeze to death. I'll make sure the ancestors don't get you killed."

Malice smiled and walked up the steps and followed Hakurei into her home, and the snow outside would continue to fall.

* * *

><p>"Malice, are you sure you can take this long a time out of your schedule to meet me?"<p>

"It's no problem, really."

"But what about your shop at the Fortress?"

"It's not _my _shop, Hakurei. Besides, my dad can take care of it without me."

"…Malice, does your father even know you've gone?"

The younger of the two frowned, trying to think of an explanation, while drinking the cup of tea Hakurei had set out for them.

"I… uh… he wouldn't have let me go if I told him!"

The miko had to sigh, then.

"Malice, I understand that the Fortress can be stifling for someone your age… but you shouldn't shut out your father like that. He worries about you."

"Hmph. It's only because he wants me to go and take over his _precious business_." Malice grumbled into her cup of tea.

"You know how important the Kirisame shop is, Malice. You'll have an important duty to the Fortress one day. Everybody needs to know they can depend on each other… especially now that it's winter."

"You're the last person I want to hear that speech from."

Hakurei thought about that for a second, before apologizing, "I'm sorry. It's probably what you're father says to you all the time."

The teenager gave another long suffering sigh, "Besides, you're the one who lives all the way out here by yourself. You don't need to depend on anybody."

"It's not that simple, Malice. If this shrine didn't sit behind the walls of the Fortress, I'm sure this place would be swarming with Youkai by now. I've been protected by the people as much as anyone else."

For a moment, the miko gave a bare smile to herself, and it was wane and humorless.

"Besides, it is an honor to be the Hakurei Miko, but it was never a choice…"

"O-Oh, did I offend you? I mean, I'm sorry, I never thought about it like that-"

The miko blinked herself back to reality, before she waved away Malice's horrified apologies, "Don't worry. It's not something that bothers me anymore."

She changed the topic, "Malice, I understand it's difficult to live in the Fortress with all these expectations, but please try to be more understanding of why it has to be like this."

"Hmmngh, fine…"

Hakurei continued, "But it is the duty of a shrine maiden, and a friend, to provide a sanctuary for those who are troubled by their day to day lives. You'll always be welcome here, when things are too hectic down at the Fortress."

"You mean it?"

Before the miko could have answered though, duty called. Through the doors of the sitting room, Hakurei and Malice could hear the hollow jangling of bells. Hakurei knew it was the sound of the Suzu bells outside. Malice knew who would be the one ringing it to bring attention.

"Um… Hakurei…? My dad…"

"Don't worry, if he's ringing the bells, and not kicking down the doors, that means he's here for me, not you."

* * *

><p>"Malice." Was all Kirisame Togusa said when the two women emerged from the innards of the Shrine. Even then, the tone of his voice gave the disappointed weight of a thousand word diatribe, just begging to open up on his daughter. The two certainly didn't take after each other, with his brown mop haired, brown eyed head sitting atop a more traditional heavy winter cloak that hid his body from the weather.<p>

"Kirisame, good afternoon." The miko greeted, "I'm sorry that Malice didn't tell you she had wanted to visit me today, she's always worried about my being lonely."

Togusa snorted, before looking at his daughter beside the miko, "You're lucky she's your friend. We'll talk more later, Malice. Go back to the Fortress."

"You can't just make me leave all of a sudden, dad!" Malice whined. It stopped when Hakurei put a hand on her shoulder.

"You should listen to your father. He and I will be talking about things that would be boring to you if you stayed. Well, his friend and him, really."

The miko looked on at the second man who had been following Togusa. A thin, young, weedy looking man, which otherwise didn't have much to appeal to her memory. She didn't see very many other people, as it was. But he had an expression to him that struck her. He seemed off in another world, trapped in his thoughts. He wasn't paying attention. He was haunted.

"Are you sure I should go?" Malice seemed unapologetically steadfast.

"Please, Malice. This is business, now."

"Tch. Alright, then. See you later, Hakurei, Dad." The young blonde sighed, as she took off, past her father and down the first set of stairs down the shrine.

Togusa looked back, following the image of his disappearing daughter, before he turned back to the miko.

"I don't know how you get her to listen to you…"

The miko shrugged with her shoulders, with a helpless expression of her own, "She just finds it easy to attach herself to me. But let's not talk outside in the snow, Kirisame. You have troubles. Let me listen."

* * *

><p>Hakurei cooked another pot of tea, as two men and one woman kneeled in the sitting room. The atmosphere was considerably thicker. Something ominous had settled over the company.<p>

"Hakurei miko, this is Kangou Hiro. He's a farmer at the Fortress. He's the one with a problem, and came to me to appeal for your help on his behalf." Togusa motioned the otherwise silent and nervous man. His eyes darted about a little, never quite allowing himself to look straight at the miko.

She was not offended. Togusa did the same the first time they met, and still did it right now, though he was covering it with his waving towards Hiro. No person at the village had the nerve to look directly at the miko, her and her powerful golden eyes. It was a trait that no one else in the village had, or nay, any ordinary human had.

The miko poured the tea out, carefully and precisely. Togusa nudged Hiro.

"Come on. You have to tell her what happened, if you're not going to tell me."

Hiro sat, consumed by the silence, before it slowly came eking out.

"I… I was married… last year… but she died…"

"I'm sorry." The miko said quietly.

"It's fine…Kyoko had a weak body… she was still happy… Kyoko was buried outside the Fortress walls… but…"

Hiro was practically mumbling to himself, lost. The miko urged him to continue.

"But?"

"I was checking the fields… I saw her…"

"You saw your wife alive?"

It was then that Hiro broke down, hands pressed into his face, memories bringing back loud sobbing.

"She's not! I saw her buried! Oh god, she wasn't alive at all… Kyoko's body… just shambling, covered in dirt, her skin… her body is just being walked around… a corpse… something's just walking my wife around…"

Togusa made his voice known, as Hiro couldn't continue anymore, "Hiro saw it first, and we had people check. Several other recent graves have been unearthed, as if the bodies crawled out on their own."

"A Youkai is at the bottom of this." The miko concluded for him.

"It's a little ghastly, but I don't know what else in Gensokyo would be interested in human bodies."

Hiro choked again, hearing those words. Kyoko being little more than a "human body". Hakurei reached across, her hand firmly squeezing Hiro's shoulder, reassuring him.

"I will find out what creature is responsible, Kangou. I won't let it take the people we love so lightly."

"The… bodies are moving northwards away from the Fortress, deeper into the valley. We didn't want to go very far from the Fortress, though." Togusa added.

"That's enough for me to go on. I'll handle it from here. This is my duty."

She stood up, already in her field, eyes narrowing, locking onto a target in her mind, for which her fist was tightening for.

She was the miko of the Hakurei Shrine, and it was her duty, her part of a tradition that predated her for generations, to uphold the position of humans in an unspoken law that ran through fiber of the land that existed half out of place.

_Youkai eat Humans, and Humans hunt Youkai._

* * *

><p>Out in the snowy fields, it trotted on four pawed feet. It had a supple wolf shape, covered in coarse wolf fur. Padding through the drifts, it stopped atop a hill.<p>

Down below, its canine eyes could see the homesteads of the humans. The rows of small cottages and cabins, which terminated with the large wooden wall, the moat that had sharp bamboo pikes driven into the dirt, and the frozen river that the humans would keep trying to break up, keep the cold water moving, and turn it into a defensible position.

The wolf stared at the civilization down below, before taking a few experiment sniffs.

Then its jaw broke. There was an audible snap as the upper and lower head of the animal hinged open almost perpendicular to the body. From the open throat , a mass of writhing snakes poured out, splaying out into the cold wind. Each head flicking out into the cold with their tongues, each tasting the air for scents.

After a minute, the lizards withdrew, backwards, back into the cavity of the thing aping the ways of a wolf. It rose up onto its hind feet.

There, it stood in the snow, sneering, and watching with a pair of mismatched eyes, one red, the other yellow, both with pupils like a cat's.

"Fooound you~."

* * *

><p><em>Hieda's Momentos:<em>

_Sendai Hakurei no Miko:_

_"The Previous Generation's Hakurei Shrine Maiden"_

"_Reimu's predecessor. No one remembers her name now, but the older residents of Gensokyo remember her as being very talented in her role as the Hakurei miko._

_Since she lived in a time before the spellcard rules were invented, her methods of dealing with troublesome youkai were rather more brutal: powerful physical blows backed by fast movement and divine power, breaking bones and crushing organs."_

Kirisame:

_A household name of the human populace for many years. Owners of a supply and second hand goods store that is passed down from one generation to the next. It was a vital lifeline in the Human Fortress, both as a place to collect and inventory supplies, and as a symbol of human civilization, something that can be rare in Gensokyo, in both Youkai and Human alike. The current shop owner is Kirisame Togusa. His daughter is Kirisame Malice. (They call it the "Rebellious phase", don't they?)_

A Youkai That Raises The Dead:

_There are many ways to manipulate a physical corpse. Technically speaking, all you need to do is "move" the body around. This could be done by puppetry, for one. One can also create Ghouls, Thralls, Zombies, Revenants, Jiang Shi, etc. This Impartation of Will, however, is in the domain of advanced magic. I worry what kind of Youkai would have such knowledge._

Unidentified Creature:

_Some villagers the other day mentioned about an odd dog like creature, that did not behave exactly like a dog, or a wolf. Could it be a Nue…?  
><em>

* * *

><p>Author's Notes:<p>

The Hakurei Miko is an original design built for the MUGEN fighting game engine. The details of her origins otherwise, besides a few online videos, and this description of her on an image gallery, remains scant.

For the sake of this story, the description of "Previous Generation" and "predecessor", should not be measured literally. More like, a "given value of previous and predecessor". Perhaps the next chapter or two will provide some indication of the timeline.


	2. Once Cut, Twice Died

**2. Once Cut, Twice Died**

* * *

><p>There could have been any number of explanations for why it happened.<p>

"Human literature had it wrong", "She decided it'd be more realistic", or even "It was connected Gensokyo, and you know what _that_place is like", and so on.

Either way, the _Hakugyokurou,_vast mansion of the Netherworld, enjoyed the winter as much as any place in the land of the living, for absolutely no real good reason.

The snow fell and collected along the roofs, it fell into the gardens and covered the shrubbery and trees in the indoor garden. The grim and colorless Netherworld, which was only as lively as one made it to be, now had its ground colored entirely in an undriven white.

It was also cold, as the _Hakugyokurou_'s two most regular residents were painfully aware of.

Somewhere in the halls of the home was another living room, albeit more lavish, and much messier. Behind the closed doors, the lighting was only provided from the rays that were washed out through the paper screens. This gray sitting room was thoroughly trashed by the items strewn haphazardly around. Some of them were more anachronistic than others, with empty instant noodle bowls, and plastic snack packages amongst more traditional empty plates and scattered chopsticks. It didn't quite make sense, but for the lady of the mansion, who had very powerful friends, regularly getting "souvenirs" from the Outside World was nothing new.

Blankets and comforters were thrown about, and to center the handiwork, a _kotatsu _had been placed. In this rather messy nest, two figures clung together, half under the _kotatsu_ and generally buried by the blankets. In the wane light, one of the figures tried to crawl out from under, eliciting long, tired groans, and a pair of arms that shot out from under the padded lair to wrap themselves tightly around the waist of the exiting.

He immediately slipped and fell on his face.

"G-Gah… Saigyouji-sama, please… I need to check the garden." He pleaded helplessly at the arms around his waist. He took the opportunity to crane his body forward, trying to slip free.

"Don't gooo…!" The woman under the covers whined, "You're the only warm thing here…"

"Saigyouji-sama, I know I'm a lot of things around the house, but being your personal throw rug is crossing some… kind… of line-"

He managed to finally slip loose of the arms, sending him tumbling against the doors, which he promptly slid open. The light and the cold air washed out the staleness inside. In the daylight, one could see the man still had relatively young features, dressed informally for the night in a green sweater and black loose pants. Silver-white hair hung loosely around his head, framing dark blue eyes that he was in the midst of wiping the night's grime from out of its corners.

In front of him were the gardens he tended to with such care, some as trees weathering the snow with all due stubbornness as it suited them, while others smaller bushes had been covered in slick tarp to shield them from the weather. All in all his handy work was safe and sound. Out of the corner of his eye, beyond the roofs, he could see the gnarled and ever stretching branches of the _Saigyou Ayakashi_, at which _Hakugyokurou_ was built at the base of. The mystical cherry blossom tree that stretched miles into the sky, but ever dead, and it was something that had yet to be resurrected. But that now was not important.

"Fresh air…" He breathed deep in relief, as he sat up on his knees. Unlike his lady, the cold air didn't bother him, "Now I just need to-_GyaaaAAAIIIGH!"_

That was how Konpaku Youki discovered how high a pitch he could scream when he felt a mouth envelop him from behind.

He shot up straight, balanced on his knees and shock running up his spine. The sensation of his lady's mouth on him wasn't something that could be experienced by ordinary humans, and for particular physiological reasons. Incensed, he twisted his head around to see his lady, the pink haired Saigyouji Yuyuko, in all her frazzled, bed-headed, bleary glory. Her arms were wrapped around a cloudy, ghostly shape that was trapped on the floor with her, while she nibbled the side of it. Matching Youki's attitude, the phantasm was squirming wildly, trying to squeeze free from its barely awake captor.

"Saigyouji-sa…" Was all Youki managed to get out. He could feel his eyebrow doing something as he watched his lady crush the spirit.

"Hmm… Marshmallow…~"

"_MY SOUL IS NOT A MARSHMALLOW, YUYUKO!"_

Youki reached forward and grabbed the spirit with both his hands. To his touch, something as immaterial as that was merely elastic, and held fast. Pulling with all his irritated strength, Saigyouji made a deeply unhappy sound as Youki's higher soul slipped out of her grasp. The sudden loosening also propelled him out the door properly, sending him falling over the edge of the verandah and into the snow.

The silver haired man grumbled to himself as he picked himself up, and picked off the snow that clung to his sleeves and back of his sweater, grimacing at the feeling of the persistent patches slowly beginning to melt into the fabric, letting the cold seep into the skin. Above, he could feel his spirit unconsciously already begin to expand, like an impromptu umbrella that warded the falling snow to drift to either side of him.

Heh, "his" spirit, if it could have been called that, if anything at all. It was his as much as it was a part of him. Even if it was a separate existence, it made as much sense to Youki saying it was "his" as much as calling your hand or heart like it was some trinket you happened to own.

Youki had been told that like many relatives before him, he had been born, and then born again. First out of his mother, and then, almost like a piece of untrue folklore, his _kon_, his upper soul, simply popped out of his newborn body, much like a dying man giving up the ghost. Unlike ordinary folk, however, Konpakus do not simply "give up" their ghosts. Those phantoms merely gravitated around them, like the gray moon around the world.

Not technically qualifying to be alive in most books, but obviously not quite worth being called dead to the world, this disembodied duality was the mark of being a member of a Konpaku lineage. Half man, and half ghost. With such features, it wasn't too hard for such a family to make a leap into the finding employment in the supernatural world.

All in all, this was how Youki found himself, playing mansion gardener (really the mother of all gofers), standing in the middle of the snow, while his lady Saigyouji Yuyuko crawled out to lie between the gap in the doors, yawning again.

"Youki, since we're both awake now, could you make breakfast?" She said, complete with a cattish grin at her gardener (servant).

The man sighed, rubbing his head of a few more traces of snow, "Ugh, being run around the mansion like this, I'm gonna die before I hit old age."

"Technically, you're older than ordinary humans, already." Yuyuko giggled, legs kicking up and down under the blankets.

"Hardly! I am a young, spry man of twenty-"

"A hundred and twenty~!"

"Oh, who's counting…" Youki snorted, arms folded, "Either way, it isn't the job of a gardener to make breakfast or be to be used as a giant pillow or eaten alive! You should get a maid or a butler or something. Or at least go get a Shikigami, like that one who belongs to your friend."

"Ah, but no one else has the same charm as Youki." Yuyuko easily responded.

It didn't take much for Youki to choke, and take a few steps back, jerking an accusatory finger at the prostrate figure.

"Don't say stuff like that so casually! You'll confuse… somebody who wasn't me! Gah! And for the last time, I'm-"

**We will be Reborn…**

"…Tch."

Yuyuko blinked, "Youki?"

The mistress of the _Hakugyokurou_ didn't give any sign that she had heard those words, but Youki felt the menacing phrase echo through the inside of his mind quite clearly. It was happening yet again…

"Nevermind, you win, Saigyouji-sama. I'll go get your breakfast…" Youki grumbled loudly.

"You're so sweet, Youki! What will you make?"

"I'll see what's in the kitchen. Just wait for me, this might take a while." Youki called back, as he clambered back onto the walkway, tracking his wet feet to his room. His ghost followed over his shoulder, its long wispy tail drawing a trail behind.

**We Will Be Reborn…**

Throwing open the drawers, Youki quickly threw on another vest, predictably green, before turning to an object on the sitting on a mounted stand in a niche built into the wall. It was a wood _shirasaya_, a mounting to store a blade when it wasn't in constant use. It was an elegant, black, featureless thing. Unlike an ordinary katana, the black thing had no lacquer and no style, and in itself, seemed to serve to pull in the light.

This weapon was the _Hakurouken_, something Youki had inherited and was now rightfully his. Regardless, it was something he preferred not to use. Youki's reach for his sword paused for a moment, and he remembered What Happened That Day. With a sigh, he picked the sword up, and with a deft twirl, slotted it through his belt.

**We Will Be REBORN.**

Youki walked towards the front gate of the mansion, taking a moment to sit down and pull on a pair of boots over his bare feet rather quickly. All the while in his approach, the noise echoing in his ears continued to rise and chitter.

**WE WILL BE REBORN.**

As he exited the doors of the mansion proper, Youki felt the snow fall upon him again, while he walked along the stone steps that etched out another path along another garden that buffered the mansion between it and a great outer wall. The protection offered it was mostly ceremonial, as very little had reason to invade the land of the dead. Regardless, in case of emergencies, the white plaster surfaces contained powerful wards that would prevent entry from being easy.

Now, as Youki stood before great wood double doors that towered above him, held close by an intricate array of sliding steel bar locks, each engraved in mystic scripts, he felt quite relieved by the security. On the other side, he could hear the chittering that was almost deafeningly loud. His soul quivered beside him as he could feel a great spiritual density on the other side. He could feel the despair and madness echoing to the point it nearly made his head hurt.

**WE WILL BE REBORN WE WILL BE REBORN WE WILL BE REBORN REBORN REBORN REBORN-**

Youki's face broke into a grimace, but he steeled himself regardless. With a finger gesture, pointed towards the door, the bars began to slide back, and with a great groan, the wood gates swung outward. Youki walked as soon as the gap was wide enough to fit him, refusing to let anything take advantage of the thin opening.

Outside was even more garden, the endless sloping fields that held trees of all kinds. In the winter, many of them were bare, nothing more than standing, spindly obelisks that reached out to the sky. On the great hill, a great stone staircase ran down, made of so many steps that its origin was out of sight, down in the depths, perhaps where it started in the land in the living. For most people (especially for the aforementioned living, who had a concept of impatience), they would have surrendered before even reaching the top.

Yet all the same, the snow fell among the large crowd that was jam packed on the steps just below Youki, ones who were all dead. Ghosts from all walks of life gathered, and he could see they remembered themselves enough to maintain an almost photographic recreation of their human bodies. Soldiers, ordinary shopkeepers, homemakers, feudal lords, kings, and so on. But looking at them made Youki sick. Whatever they were when they were alive, they were openly corrupted. Their remembered shapes were rotting even in spirit, their clothes tattered and their skin and flesh decaying. Whatever made them individuals was completely washed out by their mindless gnashing of teeth and grabbing fingers, their dull eyes wildly staring at Youki, who stood between them and the gate was closing behind him.

There were more of them than ever this time.

**RE BORN REBORN RE BORN REBORN RE BORN REBORN…**

"Spirits! The _Hakugyokurou_ is closed to you! This is only open to the virtuous dead! Return to where you came, be it hell or otherwise!"

The wave of rot seemed almost ready to rush at Youki, barely held back by some unseen force. He held his ground, and forced himself to not start edging his hand towards the sword at his side.

Amongst the chittering, a semblance of individual voice began to speak through.

**This Is The Pathway To The Old River! We Will Go Through! Return Us To The Cycle of Death And Rebirth! We will be Reborn Reborn REBORN REBORN REBORN-**

The voice lost itself in the chaos of emotion.

"The same thing you said last time… how is it your souls managed to leave the samsara? Where did you go, where have you resided before?"

**THE RIVER! The River So Cold! So Cold So Cold So Cold. We Will Go Through!**

They couldn't give any more clear answer than that. Whatever it was, all they knew was that they hated it. This much Youki filed away for later consideration, along with the idea of this "cold river".

"For the last time, I can't allow impure spirits to endanger this place. Find another way to samsara, this place is only for the virtuous dead."

**NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! WE WILL GO THROUGH WE WILL GO THROUGH! LET US THROUGH OR WE WILL KILL YOU! WE WILL KILL YOU WE WILL KILL YOU!**

Youki's hand this time jumped to the grip of his _shirasaya_, "I have eliminated groups of you before. This time won't be any different. Return. If you attack, I have no choice but to-"

**KILL HIM. KILL HIM. KILL HIM KILL HIM KILL HIM KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL.**

The crowd of bodies began to clamber up the stairs a few more feet up to the gardener in front of the gateway. Their gnarled fingers, clawed in anticipation, or wrapped around weapons of all kinds, were raised towards him. They had really lost all sense of intelligence or dignity. They were little more than echoes of despair. Youki cursed under his breath as he widened his stance, ready to meet them head on.

Five stair steps before him, the _Hakurouken_ snapped free from its wood shell, and an arc of light swept down at the ghosts. Five of them saw their upper and lower body separate, sighed, and disappeared into the air and snow.

In prior engagements, this show of force would have been enough to make other freak phantoms present hesitate in continuing. They at least retained their ability to count. This time however, there were too many of them to keep fearing anything.

Youki, in a rather surreal way, mourned the loss of opportunity to throw his deep manly voice.

_This is the Hakurouken, foul spirits! This weapon shocks the souls of the living, and sends the dead to be judged by the Yamas themselves! (Please let them not get angry at me using the sword like this, this time. Please, it was necessary)-_

Alas, there was no chance, as the next wave came into range, and Youki swung again, more phantoms disappearing with each slash. A samurai ghoul came at him with a nodachi, aiming for his head. The gardener ducked and spun on his knees, the sword flashing and taking another ghost out at his legs.

They all kept coming at him, with spears and swords, kitchen knives, whatever they identified with at the moment of their deaths. No matter how many Youki had cut down, there were too many of them to start fearing the loss of numbers. For once, he was starting to feel really worried about his odds of success.

At the very least, this would take much longer than he expected, and the Saigyouji-sama would start wondering where the heck her breakfast and chef had gone to, and then she'd start looking, and then there was the off chance she'd go outside, where all these twisted ghosts were…

Youki gritted his teeth as he brought his sword up, catching a variety of immaterial yari spears upon his blade. He could feet the vibrations ring all the way up to his shoulders as they pushed him back, slamming him against the barred gates of the _Hakugyokurou_, while he held his blade up with all the strength he could muster, keeping the spears from his face.

**KILL HIM KILL HIM KILL HIM KILL HIM.**

The gardener shook his head free of the resounding rants, and thought once again of Saigyouji-sama.

_I have to protect the lady from these… things…!_

The phantoms locking Youki down paid little attention to his dislocated spirit, which was now floating above the ground by several meters. They didn't have the attention span for it, after all. It was a good thing, since it meant nobody was noticing Youki's soul shifting shape, turning "solid", and gained intricate detail, of a vest, arms and legs, and by its hip…

_Now!_

The yari shattered. Perhaps hard to imagine, considering they were merely extensions of twisted ghosts, but they broke easily enough, considering it was a ghostly sword that slashed through them. A second swipe battered them in the chest, forcing the ghosts stumbling backwards as they tried to regain their footing, more phantoms supporting them from behind as they tried to claw onward.

Youki's soul was now his physical double, imitating him in all but color, which was still the same gray, translucent film. The sword, all the same material, was equally gray, but thus completely useless. It was merely a shape, and lacked the same banishing qualities as the _Hakurouken._

That was fine though. The spears were gone and Youki stood free and furious, his energy simmering under his skin as he readied his sword. Sliding it back into its sheath, Youki spread his feet and held the _Hakurouken_ at his side. At the same time, his spirit returned to his side, imitating his movement to a tee, a perfect mirror.

His body and his spirit were one. His body followed the desire hidden in the pit of his soul, and his soul pushed forward behind the involuntary will of his body.

_Enough of these twisted things. No matter how many come, this will be the last time. This Netherworld, the lady… for the last time…!_

The ghosts, momentarily staggered, continued their mad rush. Youki grit his teeth and bared them with all the energy he could muster. His fearsome countenance matched his mood, as he shouted.

"Take THIS!"

Youki slashed. The light that fell off the gleam on his sword, turned into a sword of its own, that gained size as it swung through the air. In a moment, the front ranks of the ghosts clambering up the stairs were bisected. Screaming ever more in their indignities, the creatures shattered and faded into the air.

With that, the stairs in front of Youki were empty. The gardener exhaled heavily, his warm breath leaving a cloud in the air. His soul meanwhile lost its imitated shape, and regained its default spherical form. But he didn't let go of his sword. His work still wasn't finished.

There was still more wicked ghosts marching up the stairs, an innumerable and indistinguishable mass, just another part of a mindless mob that wanted to get into the _Hakugyokurou _by any means.

Youki sighed, "I'm out of practice with this sword... and I thought these guys would help me get into shape easily enough. Agh, whatever! As long as there's blood in my body…!"

But all the while, he continued to worry in the back of his mind.

_This is ridiculously huge. This isn't just some roving group. This is practically an all out attack. Wherever they're from, it's opened from the original trickle…_

And now it was a flood. More swords, more axes, more chipped knives. More of the deafening mantra to **KILL HIM.** Ghosts from every walk, and every karmic end, now they were closing in on Youki again. With his back against a closed gate, all he could do was hold his sword. That was fine enough for him.

Before the fighting could continue anew, though, Youki noticed a butterfly flap past him. It was ethereal, and it glowed, as it flitted through the air, perfectly life like.

But as Youki's eyes widened, he realized it was not a butterfly, but the symbol of someone, foreshadowing her approach.

"A-Aw… crap…"

The ghosts that had been rushing up the stairs came to a dumbfounded halt. From behind the gate and outer walls of the mansion, the ethereal butterflies began to drift out in force, an emerging cloud of magenta energy.

She then appeared, floating just high enough to barely scrape the top of the barred gates. She wasn't dressed too formally, but she still had her hat, the fan at her side, and all the power and majesty due to her, as the color of her magic glowed about her in an aura, bleeding butterflies all the while.

Youki stared at the overwhelming force his lady carried, "S-Saigyouji… sama…"

"Ah, so these are the unwelcome guests that interrupted our morning!" Yuyuko cheerfully smiled.

The corrupt phantoms could only stare at the growing mass of magic surrounding the floating woman.

"I was wondering what had been taking Youki so long. But if he's had to deal with such rude people as you, I can see why he'd work so hard to keep you out. But as it is, he has work to do today, and you're obviously not civil enough to be pleasant company…"

A ghost twitched for a second, before their ravenous madness took hold.

**LET US THROUGH LET US THROUGH LET US THROUGH.**

With that they charged headlong to the gate, regardless of whoever they saw. Yuyuko snapped her fan open, and pointed its paper blade at the horde.

"…So I'm simply going to have to ask you to leave."

The cloud of spectral, magic butterflies descended upon the ghosts. Instantly, the raving forms went from clawing towards the front doors of the _Hakugyokurou _to clawing and slashing wildly at the air, as they drowned in the glowing magic.

Youki watched, unsure how his opponents were reacting negatively to Yuyuko's "persuasion". The butterflies must have felt like stinging, or something, as far as he could see. The ghosts tried as they could to keep rushing, but the butterflies were an impenetrable wall that blocked the stairs as much as they covered them as well. They continued to shriek angrily, unable to best this magic even as it managed to pain them.

It started with one, and then two, then five, but the Youki watched the ghosts, unable to take any more harassment from Yuyuko's magic, and begin to break and turn, running angrily and wildly from the "stings". Soon enough, the whole host of phantom invaders were running back down the stairs, butterflies chasing them all the while. In this realm, it was no doubt the lady's will would last and harass them until they out and out left the current plane of existence altogether.

Youki took the time to give another deep sigh of relief, now that the trouble was over. Then he heard the locked gates behind him unlock.

"Gyegk…!"

"Ah, Youki, there you are."

The gardener was at a certain loss of what to say when he watched his lady drift across the snow with barely visible foot steps. She stopped beside him, and looked down the stairs to where the ghosts previously had been.

"S-Saigyouji-sama! I can't say anything to apologize for this! I lacked the discipline and skill to be able to defend this gate, and for you to have to personally intervene on my behalf-"

"How long have they been appearing?"

Youki turned from his simpering to look at Yuyuko, and noticed her hard stare, her drawn face, and the glimmer of pity that reflected in her eyes.

"Pro... Probably over a month by now." Youki uneasily admitted, "They came with the snow. They were just errant groups here and there before. I don't know what they are, or where they come from…"

"They're so desperate to return to life. The poor things. They must be from a place where they're suffering a lot." Yuyuko muttered with sympathy.

"Saigyouji-sama, these spirits are dangerous! Don't empathize with them so easily! Who knows how many will come next time!" Her gardener complained, shaking his arms a little as if it would make her see reason.

"What would you prefer to do then, Youki?" Yukyuko asked, turning to him. Youki wondered if she was accusing him of something.

"…I have to protect this place, Saigyouji-sama. But I can't hold this gate anymore, if they keep coming in numbers like these. It might be larger than the netherworld. They might be threatening the living world… they might interfere with the cycle of life and death itself."

"So you need to find out where they're coming from, and stop it at the source." Yuyuko concluded.

"But… I can't leave this place! I can't leave you alone! It's an affront to your dignity to force the mistress of the mansion to spend every day having to watch the doors like some guard dog! More than that, the gardens, the cooking, the cleaning, the logistics… everything you depend on…!" Youki counted off to himself, with increasing fervor.

"Youki."

Just saying his name was enough to stop him. He refocused on his lady, who looked back quite earnestly.

"I think this is situation is bigger than what both of us would like to do. I can look after my own home, at least. If we're the only ones who know about this situation, then it's our responsibility to do something about it."

"So you're saying I should go."

Yuyuko gave a shrug and a coy tilt of her head, "Well, if you put it like that, I guess it sounds like an order..."

"Very well, if you think this is the best course of action…" Youki accepted, With a practiced flourish, the grip on his sword spun into a reverse hold to easily slide it back into its scabbard, "Then I'll trust you. I better start packing then."

Yuyuko gave a smile, "Good. But first…"

"First…?"

Youki felt something cold run up his back when he noticed Saigyouji-sama was giving one of **those **smiles. In an instant, the woman's hand darted out and pinched her servant by his ear lobe, bringing him low.

"Gah! Ow! Ow-ow-ow…!"

"We're going to have to have a little chat about how you've been running around and getting into sword fights behind my back, and more than that, you haven't cooked breakfast yet!"

"Aiyaiyaiyaiyai-! S-Saigyouji-sama! Have mercy…!"

And that was how Konpaku Youki's journey began.

* * *

><p>Somewhere, in a place completely unknown, a nine-tailed shikigami felt a disturbance. Instinctively, her tails shuddered, her senses detecting something inherently unpalatable in the movements of the world.<p>

Yakumo Ran's eyes flicked open, and her mind was instantly at work determining the origins to her sensations.

Arms crossed under her sleeves and legs crossed in front of her, she watched the open doors of the home, which gave her an audience to the falling snow. She stared, unfeeling for a number of minutes, thinking quite hard, until she realized the signs.

Her ears twitched.

_Someone else out there is manipulating the Barrier. Someone else out there is capable of manipulating the barrier._

_Is it being damaged?_

_No. Someone out there isn't strong enough to wreck the barrier. But someone out there is making alterations. I can feel it, as Yukari-sama's servant._

Ran, at her point of life, had few interests. She was nothing more than the arm of her mistress. Therefore, her interests and her job extended as far as what her mistress was interested in.

There was only one thing to do then.

Yakumo Ran stood up, her great robes falling around her, and her arms still collected together in her sleeves. She silently padded across the house, which was deceptively simple for the one who owned it. Though it was a small place, its shelves were still filled to the brim with little trinkets and toys collected by the mistress over the years.

Opening a door to the bedroom, Ran found her mistress exactly where she was one month ago. Walking over, she dropped to her knees beside the _futon_, where its large blanket was draped over a shape that moved slightly with its breaths.

"Yukari-sama."

"Hm…" It shifted a little, a few gold locks poking out from under the blanket, as Yakumo Yukari continued to hibernate.

"There is suspicious activity occurring with the Barrier. I will have to go out for a while to investigate. Please enjoy the winter in the mean time Yukari-sama."

"Hm… Ran…?"

The shikigami leaned in slightly, "Yes?"

"Bring back… some snacks… when… get… back…"

And Yukari was out like a light again.

"Very well, Yukari-sama. Until my return."

Ran stood up again, and exited the home of the Yakumos, in a place nobody knew existed, and left Yukari alone to her sleep.

* * *

><p><em>Hieda's Momentos:<em>

Konpaku Youki:

"_The Lonely Gardener In Search of Love"_

_(AKA "The Half-Ghostly Dork")_

_Konpaku Youki doesn't bother the humans too much. Whenever there is a Konpaku about, he is usually on a task at the behest of his mistress, who's said to be quite civil for a hungry ghost. He's quite spineless, really, though he has a good relationship with some groups of Youkai. He says he's a gardener, but that's quite a dangerous sword he has. He's still quite human, but regardless, the people of the Human Fortress are wary of the parts of him that are not._

Yakumo Ran:

"_Shikigami of the Youkai of Boundaries"_

_I've never seen her myself. She's a rare sight, which is less than the Youkai of Boundaries itself, who people haven't seen at all. In fact, the only person I've been told who actually has seen either on anything close to a regular basis is probably the Hakurei Miko herself, which is expected, considering her work. Hakurei doesn't really like talking about the Yakumos though._

_Older records say she is a Nine Tailed Kitsune, meaning she is very old. She must be quite powerful. The records by Ami says she's quite a machine, devoting herself entirely to working for the Boundary Youkai. I suppose she's still the same. Just a workaholic._


End file.
